AN initiative is underway to give dignity to vulnerable girls and women this Women’s Month and build a sense of unity, but they need your help.
My Sister’s Keeper is a project run by the Pearls Women’s Ministry (PWM), a registered non-profit organisation (NPO) in Phoenix.
Every year, the project runs a drive to collect women’s feminine hygiene products for those in need.
Pastor Marlene Pillay, who heads Pearls Women's Ministry, said: “The ministry was launched in June 2019. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and some minor setbacks, we eventually got our NPO recognition in August 2022.
“While I waited for the documents to be approved and processed, I started many projects under the banner of PWM. These included soup kitchens and the distribution of clothes and food in Phoenix.
“The My Sister’s Keeper project was always in my heart from the inception of PWM. The underlying principles can be found in our constitution as one of our visions. But financially, I could not afford to do it.
“In August 2020, my best friend's daughter, Jenavien Tia Pillay, was diagnosed with Lupus. I spent time counselling and praying for Jenavien, and as a token of appreciation, her parents gave me R1 600. I remembered praying I would use the money to do something great. I remembered the idea for the feminine hygiene gift bags and what I promised myself I would do if I got the finances to do it.
“I put in some additional finances, and I made up 20 beautiful bags. The My Sister's Keeper project was launched in October 2020. I called my sister in Cape Town and told her this cannot be the beginning and the end of this project. She told me she would sponsor the next 11 months. Those bags were distributed to girls in the community and Mount Moriah. Twent- four bags were distributed in 2021.
Pillay said in 2022, they handed out bags to a local school and some in the community.
“We had not secured corporate sponsors, so the team provided funding for these bags. The My Sister's Keeper project is not just about the bags. We encourage girls and women to be their sister’s keeper, encouraging the buddy system and taking care of the women in their circle. It's about being a motivator and an encourager. We are stronger when we journey together.”
The PWM is also involved in crisis intervention, mediation, general counselling and prayer in the community.
“We are what you may call a compass. We direct people to the correct places and people so they can get assistance. We also spend many hours in counselling and prayer.”
During Women’s Month, the My Sister’s Keeper project is embarking on their feminine hygiene products drive. These items will be distributed to abused and impoverished women and underprivileged school girls.
For more information, call Pillay on 078 751 4796.